Freeconomy Blog
Sat
13 Sep
Guide to Freeconomic Living – Part I
| 14 comments |
Since deciding to undertake a year without money, I have gained such an appreciation for the things that I currently consume in this world, stuff that I’ve completely taken for granted up until now. As I said in my last blog, it has made me really look into the nooks and crannies of my life.
These days, whenever I notice something I currently consume I have a decision to make – to do without it soon, to find a way of making it with substances from my local surroundings, or to build a mutually beneficial relationship with someone from my local area. The latter may involve taking some waste products off their hands which normally they would have to pay to dispose of.
In order to do this I have had to do, and am still doing, a huge amount of research. Which has been great as I have learned so much in the process. So I thought, through this blog over the next year and hopefully beyond, why not pass on all the lessons I’ve learned and any useful hints or tips I manage to discover (and receiving the same from you through the comments section, making it a great resource). So then if any of you out there are interested in doing something similar (whether because you agree with the philosophy behind it or simply because, like most, you are feeling the effects of the start of the economic crisis we are entering) you don’t have to do all the bull work I’ve had to do.
To make it into a guide, I’ll be breaking life down into certain categories, covering a few in each blog. These won’t necessarily be in the order of importance either.
The first thing I had to think about was shelter. I needed a roof over my head, but didn’t care what kind of roof that was. So I put an ad on my local Freecycle looking for ‘any type of living structure’, thinking I was really chancing my arm. I was preparing to make do with the great tent I already had, though that would’ve been very tough, but dreaming of someone contacting me about the yurt they no longer use! Lo and behold someone within an hour emails me to tell me they have a caravan they never use and is just costing them money to store, and that it’s mine if I want it! So it is safe to say I would recommend trying Freecycle – as long as you are patient you’ll get something eventually.
Now I had a roof, where would I put it. The first thing that entered my head was
wwoofing, which is a worldwide movement designed to help organic farmers. No matter where you are in the world, I can almost guarantee you there will be one near you. And what they usually have in abundance is land. What they usually have in desperate shortage is human help. So I decided to go and stay on a local organically run permaculture farm whilst volunteering with them for three days a week.
Right down with shelter at the bottom of Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs is food. How was I going to feed myself? Obviously the first option was to grow my own, between both the farm I will be staying on and an
allotment. Throw into that working with another local box scheme farmer who gives volunteers some veggies at the end of the day and that should be my fruit and veg looked after.
But what would I do for bread? I’ve decided to work with a local organic food business every now and then, and after a days labour get a bag of some grain – rye one day, oats another, in order to sustain me. On a normal financial comparison this wouldn’t work out very well at all – a day’s work for a stg£15 bag of grain, but that is only because at the moment food is so undervalued. To me, a bag of grain which will give me carbohydrates and protein for months is easily worth a days labour. Plus you get to help out the organic food movement, one that is ironically struggling just at the time when environmentally we need people to eat organic more than ever, because of what is happening economically at the moment.
In order to make bread though you first need to turn that grain into flour. Given that my ability to produce electricity will be very low, I decided to get my hands on a hand cranked grain mill, a great off-grid device which turns grain into flour at the rate of about 1kg per minute! Once you have your flour, you can then make the last ingredient necessary for bread – yeast. Mixing it with de-chlorinated water (just leave a cup out for a few days), over a number of days at room temperature, will enable you to make your own sourdough starter, hence not needing to buy yeast ever again!
To supplement all this, I will also be foraging food which will supply me with various things depending on the time of year, whilst also engaging in a bit of
urban foraging. Growing, foraging and skipping are the three legs of the ‘'food for free' table.
But life should be about more than simply fulfilling the bottom tier of Maslow’s pyramid, am I right?! If life ain’t fun what is the point of it all! For me, the first thing that sprang to mind was books – I really don’t want to give up reading, for a whole plethora of reasons. But I wondered – how do I get books if I don’t have any money?
So I went online and stumbled on what is now one of my favourite websites called
ReaditSwapit. However that still requires you to post a book most of the time, and I won’t be able to do that soon unless I can get the royal mail involved. Necessity, as they say though, is the mother of invention. So I am in the process of setting up a local, more personal and offline ‘Book-Swap’ club. The idea is that you would come along with all the books you've read but are happy to pass on to someone else (and also written down on a list). You would then take a look at all the books everyone else has brought, and when you see one you like you can show the person who previously stewarded the book your list, and if they like the look of one of yours you can swap! Pretty simple eh!
On top of that again, I was also thinking of having a 'bring a dish' element to it, so not only could everyone share good books, but also good food and good company into the bargain! Also there will be a chance to talk about one of the books you've brought along and feel passionate about. It’s a win-win-win situation – it’s all free, it means less waste and more friendships and positive community spirit!
In my next blog, and those thereafter, I will look at another handful of the things which make up my life, and pass on any knowledge I’ve accumulated regarding how to satisfy those needs (or wants!) without money..
If anyone out there has any hints or tips for me and everyone else regarding freeconomic living, please let us know through the comments section below. If you would like to contact me privately, you’ll find my email address in the contact us section at the bottom.
Lots of unconditional love.
Comment on this Post:
Rae Strauss comments ...
great post - you sound in good spirits and some excellent plans are falling into place.
The best thing for books, surely is the local library? Free to join, support the local community and all the free books you could ever wish for.........
I love your idea, don't get me wrong, but the library is a great resource and will offer you free internet access too.
All love,
Rae x
Don comments ...
A great blog!
It sounds to me that you are going for something that the rest of humanity will have to do very soon. It's either that or humanity doesn't have much of a future. I'm looking forward to reading future blogs -- and the Comments that follow. Rae's idea was a good one; I wouldn't want to deprive myself of books either. But at the same time I realise that libraries don't have much in the way of the community atmosphere that you hope for in your 'bring and share' scheme.
I frankly admire your courage in all this. With very best wishes!
Kieron comments ...
Have you thought of looking into a "questions for Mark" section of this site.
People could email in questions, everthing from your motivations to specifics about how you do stuff (I'm wondering how you get around, do you ride a bike, does it have bits of plastic and stuff on it etc.)
The good ones could then be published on the site with your answer. This section itself would form quite a good resource and as more questions come in and are answered you could break it down to different areas so "questions about food, questions about transportation, questions about of foraging (perhaps under the food section) etc.
Of course it's a bit of work on the front end for the site so not sure if it's a direction you want to go in.
The book club sounds cool. I might try and start one around these parts.
I like the food part of it, as without that and the friendly banter people who are not as committed to the "lifestyle" as you might still be more interested in posting their books around the country to save time / get a better selection of books to read.
One point. About working a whole day for a bag of grain. Have you given any consideration to how that might impact the person who would otherwise have been paid a days wages to do that job and may "need" the money.
Clearly you are showing that nobody really "needs" money but not everybody knows that yet and if it's somebody with a kid and rent to pay, but no caravan to live in it could be a problem. Not saying you're doing anything wrong, I think the whole thing is awesome, it's just another ethical consideration to add to the rest of them.
Beth Tilston comments ...
Mr Mark, you are an inspiration! There's a way of getting free books that's been around for years... It's called the library. I would recommend only getting one book out at a time, then that means you are unlikely to forget to return it by the due date and thus incur fines. If you do, why not try charming the library staff into letting you put books away for an hour instead of paying for it! They'd be so tickled.
Jo Nean comments ...
Hi Mark,
I've recently returned from a hitchhiking trip to Spain and back - really beautiful! Just catching up on your blog now. Do you not know about www.bookcrossing.com? There should be a local group in your area who may well do the things you have been talking about already!
Also check out www.vskips.co.uk and www.vegexchange.com
Jo xx
McShug comments ...
Go to your local supermarket that has an instore bakery (asda etc) and ask at the bakery counter for fresh yeast, they will give you a small amount free of charge.
As far as I am aware it is an offence for a supermarket to charge you for fresh yeast and this is exactly why it is given away.
Being a live culture it cannot legally be sold.
McShug comments ...
Sorry forgot to add that you can also use the free fresh yeast in homebrew, there is always plenty of fruit to forage especially in the summer, plum wine yum - freecycle for the equipment and away you go.
Good Luck and keep warm this winter.
McShug
Yan Eperon comments ...
Hi,
you might like to check out the site:
www.couchsurfing.com
for free rooms with nice people around the world! Enjoy!
Yan
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